My Gauge install

[91LTDProject]

I was bored at work, and decided I was sick of no longer having a temperature gauge, so I went in the store to browse or gauge selection. I ended up with these, though I definatly now wish I had bought the blackface ones to better match my interior. The gauge company also did not include enough line to run the oil pressure gauge, which was a major pita. I had to choose initially where I wanted to mount the gauges, either somewhere in my line of sight, which would have left all the gauge wiring exposed out the back, or a nice clean install a little bit off to the side. I chose the cleaner route, and am quite happy with how it turned out. Oil pressure and volt gauge are hooked up, but I can't find anywhere to mount the probe for the temperature gauge in the engine compartment, so does anyone have any ideas?

[gadget73]

front driver's side corner of the lower intake manifold. you'll have to remove the stock sensor to hook up the real gauge. The stocker is a 1 wire thing. If you want the stock gauge to do something, see if you can find a thermostat housing with a threaded hole in it. I stuck my stock sensor there with an extended wire. Not terribly useful but I can tell if the thermostat is opening or not. If the aftermarket gauge is reading but the dash one is not, the stat is closed. Mostly I did it because I hate non-moving needles.

Gauges look good there. I'd install them in my Towncar in the same location if not for the beveled panel. The bevel is smaller than the gauge face, no idea how to do it without it looking stupid. Mini guages possibly, but I can't find those in electric and I probably wouldn't be able to read them anyway. Will likely do some sort of pillar pod deal.

[Nathan in MI]

Nice installation! I thought about putting my gauges there, but I didn't like having them so far away. Does make for a very neat installation, though. Just no where good to mount gauges in these cars!

[91LTDProject]

My car did not come eqipped with a temp gauge or an idiot light, which I think is just about the dumbest thing in the world.

Side note. Car has 55 PSI oil pressure cold at idle, 25psi super hot at idle, and 50psi cruising down the highway hot. I was suprised. My blue 90 parts car had 10-12 psi at idle

And Nate, I really hated putting them there cause I have to look away from the road to check them, and if something does go wrong, I wont notice until I look at them, but it was the only way to do it since, as you said, these cars have almost no good places to mount gauges. I thought about doing a temp gauge like Johnnie did in his vic, mounted in the actual cluster, but my cluster is a different layout than his, and room is minimal. Only other way to go I guess is like Colin did on Magna, but thats alot of work and money.

[trwp72]

You could also get the angle cups to go behind the gauges to angle them towards you... it is a tube that has a angle cut on one end, flat on the other, that you mount the gauges thru, to angle them whatever direction you want... Most gauge manufacturers have them..

[tackleberry]

nice work! i just dont like the distance but it looks better than them hanging off the bottom of the dash.

[91LTDProject]

I thought about the angle cups, but its not something we stock and I would have had to use pieces of PVC pipe. Ugha to that. I will see what happens in the future, I'd like to angle them towards me, but for now this will do.

[sxcpotatoes]

Do you really need the heater/air conditioning vents, I'd think one or two would fit in that space...

[91LTDProject]

I deleted a vent for my Tach install on my 91, but found that I missed having the vent there. If I was building a summer only car, I'd delete the vents and all the heater controls and use those spaces for gauges.

[murphmobile2]

Damn dude!

Those are some amazing installs... wish I could do mine that well!!

[85crownHPP]

good work man!
they arent too far away... its not like you have to constantly monitor them.

[86VickyLX]

For the '91,
Isn't it possible to drop in an instrument cluster from an aero? Like '94 or something. That has guages and that except a tach.

[85crownHPP]

nope...

[Glen]

I made a box to put mine in.

[P72Ford]

Nice job Zach; just like the factory Police car gauge set. I wish I could put gauges on that side of the dash in my '90. Instead I have gauges in the radio opening (radio in glove box), a tach on the pillar, a vacuum gauge on the floor, and a volt meter attached to the dash in the speedo cluster.

I like your setup; nice and simple and clean.